US sanctions 8 tankers, 10 entities for alleged role in Iranian oil trade

Merve Aydogan

The US Treasury Department sanctioned eight oil tankers and 10 companies Wednesday that are accused of helping Iran transport and sell crude oil in violation of American sanctions.

The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) added the firms and vessels to its Specially Designated Nationals list, citing Executive Order 13902, which targets Iran’s petroleum and petrochemical sectors.

In a statement, the US Treasury Department said the designations also advance the “President’s National Security Presidential Memorandum 2 (NSPM-2),” which calls for maximum economic pressure on Iran.

Among the newly designated entities are Hong Kong-registered shipping companies, including Billion Nexus Int’l, Confident Apex, Marinova Freight, Nevada Spirit, and Qi Hang Ship Management, along with Marshall Islands-based Branch Saying International Trading, Ocean Tranquility, and Vast Mighty.

The statement claimed that the eight vessels and their linked companies have collectively moved millions of barrels of Iranian crude oil and petroleum products to China and the United Arab Emirates, in some cases dating to 2022.

Also designated were two Iran-based firms, Hormuzsafe Marine Services Authority and Persian Gulf Marine Insurance Company, both described by the Treasury Department as allegedly operating in the financial and insurance sector and subject to secondary sanctions.

State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott argued that “two Iranian entities backed by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) for running coercive ‘insurance’ schemes that extort international shipping transiting the Strait of Hormuz. These entities manufacture risk—including the threat of vessel seizures—and then charge commercial vessels for coverage against dangers created by the regime itself, generating revenue that sustains IRGC operations and Iran’s broader campaign of regional destabilization.”

The eight tankers named, including the Al Salmi, Breeze V, Crystal, Lily, Natsumi, Nireta, Well Sail and Yehope, were linked to the designated companies and flagged in countries such as Barbados, Vanuatu, the Marshall Islands and Mozambique.

Pigott said the designations support US Navy enforcement of a blockade on Iranian ports and coastline, and are part of a wider campaign that has sanctioned more than 100 vessels in 2026 as part of Iran’s “shadow fleet.”

“Today’s action was taken pursuant to Executive Order (E.O.) 13902, which targets Iran’s financial, petroleum, and petrochemical sectors,” Pigott added.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said that “with its economy in freefall and inflation in the triple digits, the regime is desperate for cash,” and that “the United States will not allow Iran to hold global commerce hostage or use international shipping to finance the IRGC’s terrorism, aggression, and repression.”